What do people really think of soldiers?

Everybody loves a soldier. They appreciate their willingness to lay down their lives. They dedicate monuments to them, and thank them at airports. However, I’d like to know what they really think. Sure, they appreciate them, but at the same time people seem to think of them as stupid. Do people appreciate them, or pity them? Do they truly care, or are they just thankful it means they don’t have to go themselves? Being a soldier has seemed to have lost it’s coolness. It’s no longer grand and valiant. Instead it’s stupid, dangerous, and poorly compensated. Sigh… if thank you just meant more then a little hot breath. I guess that’s a little harsh. There are many people who sincerely appreciate the army. However, most people are thinking “better him then me.”

Justice Thomas

So, if you've been reading the news lately Justice Clarence Thomas has finally been coming out of his shell. He's written a book, and has been interviewed by 60 Minutes. The U.S. should be taking a good look at his words, and weigh them with a lot of thought. This is a man who doesn't talk often, and when he does, he usually has something important to say. After years of being bashed by white democrats as "not being black enough" because of his politics, he is now being labeled as an angry black man.
Ruben Navarette of CNN wrote a very good, to the point article on this (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/09/navarrette/index.html). It was short and to the point. Liberals have been riding him hard, trying to make sure that black people stay right where they are in the democratic fold. I don't agree with Thomas' views on Affirmative Action, but that doesn't make him unblack. Where are the great black leaders coming to his defense? Why don't the great black leaders come to the defense of the well spoken and intelligent Donovan McNabb? Why is it only the Michael Vicks of the world that get sympathy. Here are great black men, who are paving a road for success, and no one is holding them up because they aren't doing it the "black way."
The ridiculous responses to Thomas’ book just go to show how much we need Affirmative action. Action by INDIVIDUALS affirming that racism is wrong. This may be making a point for Thomas. After all these years the people who are backing Affirmative action are racially oppressing him. I’m for some forms of Affirmative action, but maybe it’s time for people to stop the political talk, and look into there own lives. That’s where the racism is, and that’s the front line of the battle. Laws can only control actions. Only individual decisions will actually bring an end to the awful reality of racism.